The Effect of Salinity on Mangrove Growth in the Florida Everglades

Mangrove forests are highly productive ecosystems that provide benefits to humans, such as storm protection, in the intertidal regions of tropic and subtropic climates. Mangroves grow primarily in shallow brackish water where fresh and salty water sources meet, but frequent hurricanes mean that once stable brackish environments are vulnerable to fluctuations in salinity levels. A previous study on the effect of salinity on mangroves found a negative relationship between salinity increase and root biomass growth. However, little research has gone into the effects of salinity changes on mangrove growth and productivity. Here, I used data from the Wetland and Aquatic Research Center to examine the effect of changing salinities on mangrove size in the Florida Everglades, where there is a wide variety of mangrove vegetation, as a way to examine the effect of varying salinities on mangrove success. I hypothesize that there will be a decrease in mangrove size in areas with higher salinity, as it will cause the mangroves to expend more energy filtering uptake. BIO 340 final project